The incredible amount and value of all our footage led our editor Schlango (Christian) to a great idea: Instead of cutting a lot of the neat stuff out, we split the content on 2 Volumes. One for the past and one for the present of Tiki.

This year we will release Volume I: Paradise Found, which tells the story from the early European explorers to the heyday of Tiki in the 50ies and 60ies. Many of the present day Tiki aficionados help to tell the story. So you will meet cool guys like Sven, Otto, Jeff, Shag etc. already in the first volume. We cover the whole range of topics. The creation of the south seas myth, the origins of tiki, the birth of Polynesian pop, Don and Vic, bars, restaurants, cocktails, carvers, artists, music and so on. Over 100 minutes of amazing tiki material.

King Kukulele, who is the official voice of THE DVD OF TIKI, just visited us here in Munich. We did recordings for the narration and recorded two new great songs. The King composed them on the fly will dining at the Trader Vic's in Munich. Late at night we recorded the sweet pieces. Though we had little time it was a blast. Big fun. Thank you Denny for coming and doing the narration and the beautiful songs: "Adventure Land" and "Paradise Lost".

In spring/summer 2008 we will add Volume II: Paradise Reloaded. This part is also already at an advanced state, which makes it promising for a close follow up release. Here we cover the revival of Tiki, starting with a few good men who go looking for the lost relicts. Sven Kirsten starts out on his adventure of urban archeology. Otto von Stroheim, Shag, Bosko, Kevin Kidney & Jody Daily and Jeff Berry widen the path until the whole world celebrates tiki again. Here you will meet the who is who of todays Tiki scene. Here you will hear stories about hunting, carving, collecting, friendships, community and the big tiki festivals. Again over 100 minutes of Tiki at its best.

On the premiere of the Tiki Modern Festival we will show "Paradise Found (Volume I)". The release of the actual DVD will probably take some more time into October. We underestimated the time and trouble of finding and licensing footage and music from outside sources. We need to have all the legal issues covered before we can give the movie into manufactering.

Here is my call: If there is someone here in the Tiki community who is a professional movie producer or has knowledge about footage and licensing research, or negotiating with record companies and TV stations etc., please write us if you would like to help. Mahalo, Joe

So we had fun with Sven on the "Tiki Modern" tour thru Germany and Switzerland. We didn't finish the DVD to a point where we could finally hold it in our hands and give to the people. Bummer. Still figuering out certain legal details and trying to make things even nicer.

We did deliver a one hour version of the film that we showed on the events and we were very happy that it was received so well. For the moment we ran out of money again so that we have to do some other jobs.

One of these nice jobs brings us to LA from the 9th to the 18th of November. That would be a great chance to do a sneak preview of our 60 minutes piece. I know it is very short term.

but who has an idea where we could organize a screening for 50 to 100 people? The screening would be from a DVD, Whe dont have a copy on film.
_________________The DVD of Tiki
www.armchair-travelling.com

Hi jochen,
i preordered a copy of the dvd a couple of days ago, hoping not beeing to late. Man, october has past. Will there be enough copies for everyone awaiting your dvd? And will I receive it directly from armchair travelling or will it be klang und kleid?
I don´t want to be to unpolite, but in fact it is easier in german:

Yep, the DVD is still on hold and not finished yet. We are working on some othe rjobs at the moment. One is bringing us to Miami this week (from the 5th to the 11th of Dez.). I will try to set a a small screening on the 10th and show one hour of the movie. It makes sense to set it up near or in the Maikai. Ideas anyone? I will post here once we have a plan. Aloha.
_________________The DVD of Tiki
www.armchair-travelling.com

Joe -- what IS the unvarnished deal re. the "street date" of this DVD???

I know about the issue with the music rights. Okay -- fair enough. I'm sure that would throw a wrench into things for a while. And then the original single disc morphed into TWO DVDs -- one focusing on tiki past and the other on tiki present. So much the better for all us passionate tikiphiles. And that would, naturally, account for further delays.

Interestingly, the 'Armchair Travelling' website currently advertises the DVD as being released in September... of 2007!

So PLEASE put us out of our misery as to when we might actually PURCHASE this elusive creation. Heck, even an educated ballpark GUESS would be appreciated at this point! Or is this legendary production really more akin to the fabled island of Bali Hai -- a mythical paradise never to be attained in reality?

thanks for kicking my butt and pointing out the misleading information on the Armchair Traveling website. I just corrected all entries today. And set the announcing of the release date to "still uncertain". No more shaky dates.

I do understand your frustration with this long promised project. I am fatigued and fed up with it myself. And I have to apologize for my over-optimistic and way too enthusiastic approach. In the beginning I though it will all go really quick. (But I have to add that at that time I had a way smaller project on a lower quality level in mind. The movie as it is now will be full of sophisticated edition and 3D animation).

The truth as usual is very simple and unpleasant to tell. This is a very "unprofessional" project in a way. In fact it is a fun and hobby crazy idea of mine. Early on I decided to put a lot of my own money into it and soon realized that it will not be profitable. And I don't mind that. There is no boss or client on this, that gives me money or forces deadlines on me. And I am glad about that.

The other crucial point probably is that this project does not have my number one priority. Please understand that family and regular job come first. I do it on the side and I need the time and help of other people who also have to fit it in their life/schedule.

So much about the whining. Let's look at the positive side: 60minutes of the first DVD are ready and have been seen by several of you. E.g. at the Wassermusik festival (http://www.hkw.de/de/ressourcen/archiv2008/wassermusik/_wassermusik/wasser_detail.php) or at the premier of Sven's new book here in Germany (http://www.klangundkleid.de/events/tikimodern/english/). Who has seen it, knows the amount of crazy detail, intricate montage and countless animations. We stick to our quality expectations, even if it takes longer.

So whats left to do? Reediting of the music/exotica part. I am at the point where I will just cut short on the music. People in the movie will talk about exotica but I wont play it. The interested audience will have to research it for themselves. And tikiphiles like you, know what "Quiet Village" sound like anyway. So way pay 20.000$ for music. I simply cant afford the musical rights.

Also we crafted a 15 minutes prologue on the origin of the myth of the seas paradise. It is mostly about the time of the early European explorers and the history of the real south pacific. As you can imagine there is no film footage about that time, which consequently means lots of animations that need to be created. Which means lots of time to spend.

All this would probably take 4-6 weeks in a row if me and my editor Schlango could afford to take this much time out at once. But we will have to do it little by little. It might take until autumn or winter, but even that I don't know, judging from earlier experiences.

What I know is that I like what we have, what we have accomplished and that this won't die in a closet. We want you guys to see it and like it too.

Please accept my apologies for getting you all excited about this documentary. Maybe it is best if you forget it for a while. And in the end you will hopefully be surprised when it comes around.

I once ordered a book in the making about the TV show La Femme Nikita. It took so long that all of us who had paid up front really thought the author took our money and ran. There were minimal updates as time flew by. Happy to say that the book finally came out and it was well worth the wait. It had astonishing photography, interviews and facts.

Bottom line...it must be so hard to announce these products to the eager public and meet deadlines. Projects have a tendency to blossom and take longer than planned. Better to do a great job than a so-so job just to meet a deadline. I pre-ordered, so look forward to this DVD when the artists wrap up what they feel is the best they can make.
_________________ "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"

(Only exception during the Tiki Modern Premier: On the Klang und Kleid website the DVD was a certain time on preorder but I asked the guys to take the item down because I couldnt garantee a release date.)
_________________The DVD of Tiki
www.armchair-travelling.com

And now that I know the real story I am totally with Tiki Diablo -- you just take your time and do what you need to do. It'll be ready when it's ready.

And when that day comes the ohane will LOVE it and give you lots of well-deserved pats on the back! And I congratulate you in advance for all the incredibly hard work you have and still are obviously putting into this worthwhile but complex project!